Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

Alcohol and marijuana are two drugs commonly used and abused in the United States. Alcohol is the number one abused drug, while marijuana is number one among illegal drugs. While alcohol remains legal, and marijuana illegal, this does not necessarily mean that the alcohol is better for you. There have been many arguments where people suggest that marijuana should be legal because alcohol is more deadly. On the other hand, there are alcoholics who would tell a pothead that smoking weed is bad for you. Both substances are very bad for your health and should not be heavily used by anyone.

With recent years, excessive controversy has been brought up around marijuana. The birth of this comes from more states pushing for legalization. Marijuana, as a part of American history, is now being compared to another huge substance that has associated itself with American history: alcohol. These comparisons are coming from anti-legalization supporters and should not be happening at all. Alcohol is not as regulated and educated than marijuana, even though pot has additional benefits, identical side effects, and a similar history to alcohol.

This paper will look at the benefits and drawbacks to legalizing marijuana by looking in at Colorado.The state made forty million dollars by taxed marijuana in 2014 alone, also Colorado saved countless millions because of the extremely lower amounts of marijuana arrest and court cases. It is not clear how having new recreational marijuana stores opening will affect the cannabis market, or businesses expanding around them. Gov. John Hickenlooper says that the economy is thriving with record setting numbers of tourists (73.1 million). 49 percent of those tourist said that legal marijuana influenced their decisions to vacation in Colorado. The ER’s in Colorado have also seen a rise in numbers of marijuana related cases and those cases in non-residents have almost doubled. An unexpected situation that arose from legal cannabis was the amount of electricity that is being use to grow the drug. Some cannabusinesses have to go green with solar or wind power. There are many varying views on the effects of legal marijuana have developed in Colorado since marijuana became legal in 2014.

The statement “marijuana is a lot safer than alcohol” cannot go unchallenged and should be debated. One important subject is the risk that marijuana use (especially in young adults) can lead to some kinds of mental illness. “Studies support findings that risk of schizophrenia doubles in young abusers” (U.S. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2009). According to Joseph Califano Jr., CASA founder and chairman of Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) “If we were to make marijuana legal and taxed it, for approximately every dollar of tax revenue, there could be as much as seven dollars incurred in medical costs”.

Alcohol and marijuana are two drugs commonly used and abused in the United States. Alcohol is the number one abused drug, while marijuana is number one among illegal drugs. While alcohol remains legal, and marijuana illegal, this does not necessarily mean that alcohol is better for you. There have been many arguments where people suggest that marijuana should be legal because alcohol is more deadly. On the other hand, there are alcoholics who would tell a pothead that smoking weed is bad for you. Both substances are very bad for your health and should not be heavily used by anyone.

There are zero cases where cannabis was proved to be the cause of death. While it is true that the effects of cannabis can lead to death, to die directly from cannabis consumption, per G.T. Carter et al (2004), you would have to consume 628kg of cannabis would have to be taken in 15minutes. It is quite literally impossible to die from cannabis consumption alone. When compared to alcohol it remains baffling as to why one is illegal and one is not. Office of National Statistics figures show that for 2014 there were 8697 cases of alcohol related deaths in the UK alone, a rate of 14.3 deaths per 100’000. This number has fallen from 2008 when there the rate stood at 15.8 deaths per 100’000, yet is still higher than the figures of twenty years ago. This is one glaring example of the dangers to both the user and society at large of alcohol when compared to cannabis.

Drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana have been around for years. The fact that it has been around so long has made it become a trend for many adults, teens, and even kids. Many of those who use, either use one or both without knowing the health effects either of the two drugs can have on you. Some say marijuana is more harmful than alcohol, and others vice versa. Although both drinking and smoking have short and long term health effects, experts show that marijuana is much safer to use health wise rather than drinking.

In the realm of personal safety, long-term alcohol abuse severely compromises major organs and bodily function, chiefly among them the lungs and fluid operability of the blood vessels. Thus, excessive alcoholic intake can lead to eventual chronic and debilitating health problems, such as liver cancer and diabetes. This is also a universally recognized and accepted reality. It is because of the widespread acceptance of these relative hazards that alcohol, although legal, has been seemingly sequestered by American society into a niche category of vices that are appropriate when consumed responsibly, but dangerous and overtly negative when consumed otherwise. Why then, has marijuana seemed to sidestep this particular form of judgment and swung itself onto the complete opposite end of the pendulum; the end that says it is completely harmless to consume?

Many people have raised eyebrows when legalization of marijuana received too much scrutiny from the public. Whereas alcohol, which poses more harm than marijuana, can be seen available almost everywhere. Alcohol, regardless of the doses, has insignificant benefit to the body just to remind an obvious example. Much worse when abused, alcoholism can disrupt endocannabinoid system. Folks with serious case of alcoholism are advised to use marijuana to reverse the adverse effects of alcohol in their body.

Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (“Marijuana” 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel “high” or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (“Marijuana” 1). Like most drugs, marijuana has a very long history. People have been using the plant around the world for thousands of years. The oldest record of the marijuana plant dates back to 2727 B. C. in China where the plant was used as a medical herb for treating conditions like rheumatism, gout, malaria and even absent-mindedness (“Cannabis, Coca, & Poopy: Nature’s Addictive Plants” 1). Slowly, the plant started spreading around the world. By 1545, cannabis was starting to appear throughout the western worlds. Being introduced to South America by the Spanish to be used as fiber. The crop also had many other common uses around the world. In North America, cannabis was often used to make paper, ropes, clothing and other materials (“The Origins of Cannabis” 1).

Marijuana and alcohol have caused several problems over the past few years. However, alcohol has always been around. Marijuana has also always been around, but there was an absence of it for a good period of time. It is not becoming more popular all over the United States. Although neither stimulant 's are good for you, the usage of both is in a very high demand. Both marijuana and alcohol have different side effects. Being an alcoholic is by no means healthy for a person. Any person can easily get alcohol poisoning and death can result in it. More people are dying every day from people driving drunk. The effect alcohol has on one person body is far worse than being high from smoking marijuana.

The legalization of marijuana has been a heated topic of debate for many years. In 1937, the United Sates of America passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which made transfer or possession of cannabis (marijuana plant) illegal throughout the US under federal law. Studies conducted throughout the years have proven that cannabis can be utilized as a medical supplement. In fact 20, states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to legalize marijuana under certain medical conditions. According to the White House, it is the most commonly used recreational drug in the United States. It has been proven to be less harmful than alcohol, which is currently

Marijuana is a well known international drug with unfortunate secondary effects to many individuals that use it. Although marijuana is often smoked, in history it has been used in many different ways. As we all know, marijuana has harmful effects, However alcohol has many more effects than marijuana. Although marijuana is illegal, legalizing marijuana can help medical complications, lower the rates of arrests, and help America’s economy.

On the other hand, some people who argue that cannabis should not be legalized argue that cannabis is more lethal to the human body than alcohol, which is legal. This is demonstrably false. Obviously, cigarettes and alcohol are harmful to humans, causing lung cancer, liver failure, brain damage, and other ailments. The proponents of legalization of cannabis argue that cannabis is already being used all over the world and less deaths can be attributed to it compared to other drugs. Rarely, if ever, has a death been attributed to cannabis use. The reality is that no human has ever died from marijuana overdose. Cannabis does contain carcinogens, which critics say is one of the dangers that need to stay

Drinking alcohol is also much more harmful for you than marijuana is, and it too is legal. Alcohol damages your internal organs like your liver, kidneys, and circulatory system. Alcohol also has a much higher dependency than does marijuana. Tens of thousands of people are dependent on alcohol everyday sometimes ruining one’s personal and family life. Alcohol also causes you to lose your inhibitions which could get